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Geoff, I'm an editor (I do both general interest and technical
documents). I think numbered headers are ugly, and the company I edit
for doesn't use them often, but they certainly are a more succinct
method for accurately referring a reader to another location. The
reader immediately knows whether to page forward or backward ... and
having numbered headers eliminate the need to add little helping
comments like "later in this chapter," "in Chapter 4, 'Installing
Options,'" "in the 'Choosing Your Environment' section earlier in this
chapter..."
Formatting numbered headers is also a problem, since the text of the
header may not begin until nearly the center of the page! My preference
is to run the number to the left of the left-handed text margin, in a
negative relationship to the margin setting. But then you need large
margins and a large gutter.
Even though I hate the way they look, I have often found myself wishing
for them when a document refers the reader here, there, and everywhere!
Fran Freiman
ffreiman -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com
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Fran Freiman Email: ffreiman -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com
Joe Freiman
Matt Freiman
